SANParks.org ForumsDiscussing the National Parks of South Africa2012-09-26T20:44:01+02:00http://www.sanparks.org/forums/feed.php?f=27&t=638142012-09-26T20:44:01+02:00http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=63814&p=1794822#p1794822Remember the story with the giraffes I came across on my first afternoon on the S82 ...???

Here's a refresher ...

Next were a couple of giraffes in the road …

They started necking … not as in knocking lumps out of each other, but as in soft, caressing, necking …

He kept standing behind her protectively …

Then I noticed that he was ready for something else …

He tried to mount her a couple of times but she wasn’t having any of it

“What are you looking at … please can we have some privacy?”

So I left the young lovers alone to have a bit of privacy.

WELL ... when I came across them I admit to thinking at first that they were both males as the smaller one didn't have very hairy horns. However, when I saw the way they seemed to be "flirting" then watched the bigger giraffe trying to mount the smaller one, I automatically assumed it was a male and female.

WRONG!!!

Thanks Tiny (after double checking with OB!) for correcting me and pointing out that it was in fact 2 male giraffes!

Apparently the mounting thing is to do with dominance but I am still in two minds about the whole thing ... they looked SOOOOOOOOO much in love!

]]>2012-09-03T20:54:30+02:00http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=63814&p=1780893#p1780893Saturday 14 April

I was up, packed, and at the gate ready to leave 5 minutes before the gate opened! Hyenas were whooping and lions were roaring – it’s so difficult to tell exactly where the noise is coming from though …

I decided I’d leave from Malelane Gate and would get there via the S21.

A quick stop at Sunset Dam and I put hippo, grey heron, and a Giant Kingfisher on to my sightings list for the day. Further on and I added impala, white back vultures and bushbuck.

At the natural pond on the S21 ellies appeared out of the bush for an early morning drink …

Further on and a single buffalo crossed the road in front of me …

Other buffalo should note the new fashion accessory for summer 2012 … a piece of grass placed strategically behind the right horn!

A jacobin’s cuckoo …

and a klipspringer enjoying the morning sun …

At the end of the S21 I turned south on the S114 but when I got to Biyamiti Weir found that it was still closed.

Mr Croc was enjoying the peace and quiet, as was the Goliath Heron and the hippos…

I drove along the S23 which runs along the Biyamiti river - lots of general game was about – impala, kudu, waterbuck, giraffe, zebra, etc. Then, around the corner, not what I wanted to see …

I reversed quite a way and waited patiently till the ellies decided to make their way into the bush …

At the junction with the S113 and the H3, 4 ground hornbill …

I pulled into Afsaal briefly and parked up right next to Dikdikkie and her friend who were also leaving the park. We had a brief chat then sadly continued on our way out of the park.

It had been a brilliant holiday, despite the crowds over Easter. I hadn’t eaten any chocolate Easter Eggs, but what a lot of SPOTS I’d had!

It hadn’t rained ONCE the entire time I was in the park and I couldn’t help think that I could have camped after all (remember, I DON’T DO camping in the rain!). My next trip was booked for June and as I’d been enjoying the accommodation at Lower Sabie so much, I was booked to stay there again. BUT I MISSED CAMPING!!!

Once back in Pretoria, I was on the phone to SanParks to see if I could change my June booking … stay tuned for “Wendy Goes Camping Again”!!!

I got to Duke’s where I poured myself a coffee. I was just about to take a sip when a cricket the size of a flipping helicopter flew into the car and attached itself to my nose!

Well, I let out such a scream, my arms were flying about and I was shaking my head to try and get the blasted thing to let go of my nose. My coffee went everywhere and when the cricket finally did hop off somewhere else, I was left with a red mark on my nose where it had been gripping on for dear life!

Having scared away anything within a couple of kilometres with my screams, I decided not to hang about. I drove on and passed what I now know is a Peanut Butter Acacia bush (as advised by Daniel at the Hippo Pools!).

]]>2012-08-29T21:14:15+02:00http://www.sanparks.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=63814&p=1778026#p1778026Friday 13 April

My last full day in the park … I was up early. There was no sign of life from Jeanie and I wasn’t comfortable leaving to get to the gate for 6am without ensuring she was up … she had a flight to catch from Nelspruit!

Luckily I knocked on her door as she was FAST ASLEEP!!! We said our goodbye’s and I headed into the park.

I’d received a BBM the previous afternoon about lions taking down a buff on the S30 Salitjie Road and had arranged to meet Hotshot and his family there for a Kruger Park Coffee.

A beautiful Kruger sunrise to start the day …

general game enjoying the morning sunshine …

I drove over the bridge and onto the S128. It was a quiet morning; this lappet faced vulture was on the lookout for something to scavenge on …

I turned on to the S30; it was very quiet – no animals and no cars either which was strange, especially as no doubt word had got out about the buffalo kill.

I went over the first river on the S30 … it was so dry …

and I was feeling rather parched myself so pulled into a layby to make a coffee. I was reaching around in the back of the car when Hotshot appeared! He’d driven the S30 from the H12 and there was no sign of a kill whatsoever – no vultures, NOTHING. We had a coffee and said our “cheerios”.

I turned around and headed towards Mlondozi where I came across a couple of vultures who appeared to be looking into their nest to say “what on earth is that” … perhaps another cuckoo???!!!

More ostriches amongst the zebra and wildebeest …

Then something pink was fluttering in front of the car … it was a cricket. Now, you know what I’m like with crickets but I was just intrigued and amazed by the colours so had to take a photo.

I guess the pink only shows when the wings are open but I wasn’t brave enough to wait until it decided to hop off again in case it hopped into my car!

There was still quite a bit of the carcass left but it was obviously not 100% secure so the leopard dragged it a little further up into a more secure spot.

Jeanie arrived! We gave each other the thumbs up and watched for another 5 minutes or so before the leopard came down the tree, did a bit of personal grooming then wandered back off into the bush again!

On a high, we drove to Sunset Dam where we sat and enjoyed the rest of the day with a couple of cold Kruger Park Appletizers and reflected on the “unmentionables” that we’d seen during the day …

When I pulled up the driver saw my YR and asked if I was a SanParks forum member – it was SAF! He’d been sitting there for an hour or so waiting for the leopard to reappear but was now thinking about moving on. He told me he was loathed to go as he had a feeling that as soon as he left the leopard would reappear. He hung around a while longer then took off. I watched his vehicle disappear in my rear view mirror, but a couple of seconds later he turned around and came back!

“Is the leopard back yet?” he asked!

“No” I told him, so once again he took off ...

Well, SAF, as I said in my PM, I know you are going to hate me for this, but guess what????

I could still see your tail lights in my rear view mirror when can you believe what appeared out of the bush???!!!

He had a quick loo break

I was the only car there!!!

He walked towards the tree checking out his kill …

then climbed the tree and started chowing into the carcass.

The noise of the crunching of the bones was incredible – I’d never been that close to leopard with its kill before so this was all new to me.

A couple of cars arrived – we all had a similar view; unfortunately the tree’s branches were in the way of the “perfect picture” but it was still an amazing sight to witness and listen to!

Just before getting to Croc Bridge I spotted a Yellow Ribbon – it was GranJan! We had a quick chat as she was on her way to pack up and check out of Croc Bridge; we did, however, get to meet up again at Lower Sabie when we had more time to catch up.

Jeanie and I continued to Croc Bridge where we stopped for coffee and a proper chat! Jeanie is from Australia and had been to Kruger 3 times in the past 3 years, having always gone on an organised safari. She’d done a few days with a safari company this time but had decided to take the leap and do the self-drive thing! I told her all about the SanParks forum which she’s now joined ... welcome “The Dog Lady” (another Kruger-holic ... people thought I was crazy going back just 7 weeks later in June but at least I only had a 4 hour drive ahead of me. Guess who was was also back in June after a 12 hour FLIGHT followed by a 5 hour drive???!!).

Jeanie had never been to the Hippo Pools before and I think it is great to experience the ability to get out of your car “in the bush” so off we went. On the way there we passed this lovely ellie and calf … quite a tusk she has on the right though her left tusk has been broken off …

When we got to the Hippo Pools, there was already a car there void of occupants and up on the rocks we spotted Daniel with his “guests”. Daniel waved to us and we waved back. We sat for 10 minutes or so and waited for them to return; Daniel was intrigued as to why we didn’t want to get out of our cars ... he’d been indicating for us to go and join them!!!

Anyway, Jeanie and I got out of our cars and went for a short walk with Daniel. I am still amazed at what good eyesight he has – how can he manage to spot impala, flowers, etc, so far away without his binoculars?

There were hippos and crocs in the river (check out the little baby in the photo below!);

in the distance were impala and a herd of buffaloes that suddenly took off and left a cloud of dust behind them. We watched through our binoculars in anticipation, wondering what might have suddenly made them run off. Unfortunately nothing transpired.

It was about 11am; Jeanie received an sms from the safari guide she’d been on tour with previously and I got a BBM ... a leopard had made a kill on the north section of the S28. We decided that by the time we got there it would be a traffic jam, so drove back slowly via the S130, S137 and S28.

We went around to the back of Gezantfombi fist, and playing peek-a-boo with the hippos was this lady …

Next thing, this big chap appeared …

He walked along the dam wall and sat down.

Jeanie and I drove around to the bridge where we had a much better view …

We continued north and got to the spot on the S28 where the leopard had been in the morning. It was about 2pm. A couple of cars were there and said the leopard had disappeared into the bush about an hour before. Jeanie returned to Lower Sabie for a spot of lunch and loo break; I had my Lays tube (!) and “padkos” with me so went and sat at Sunset Dam for a while ...

About an hour later I decided I’d return to the leopard kill on the S28. There was only one car there. What was left of the kill was clearly visible in the tree …